The present invention relates to a guard for a cast cutter and, in particular, a cast cutter that utilizes a rotary cutting blade.
Medical staff place a cast over a broken limb of a patient to protect the area of the break and maintain proper bone positioning during healing. A layer of fabric is first placed over the patient""s limb. Plaster is then placed over the layer of fabric. The plaster hardens to provide both support for the injured area and a protective layer.
When the cast is to be removed it must be cut away using cast cutters. A common form of cast cutter used in many hospitals uses a rotary blade. Great care must be when a rotary blade cast cutter is used. If penetration of the rotary blade is too deep, the patient will receive a cut from the blade. The blade becomes heated during cutting, so even if the blade does not cut the patient, the patient can receive a burn if the blade is brought too close to the skin. The rotary cutter blades are durable enough to withstand numerous uses. However, when the blade are used on multiple patients there is a danger that they may become instruments for the spread of infectious diseases.
An obvious solution to the problem of cuts from the cast cutter is to provide some form of guard. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,625,405 and 5,020,226 both illustrate cast cutters with hook like guards that maintain a cutting blade a constant distance from a patient""s skin. Due to some inherent disadvantages, these types of guards have not gained favour with medical staff. One disadvantage is that casts come in a variety of thicknesses. As a result, there is a need to adjust the depth of the guard from cast to cast, which is time consuming. Another disadvantage is that casts tend to be irregular in thickness. As a result there is a need to adjust the depth of the guard during the cutting of the cast. A further problem is that the guard tends to exert pressure upon the injured area. This causes the patient discomfort, especially when the cast is being cut in the proximity of stitches or sutures.
What is required is an alternative configuration of guard for a cast cutter.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a guard for a cast cutter which includes a first member securable to a cast cutter and a second member securable to a guard member. The second member is freely movable relative to the first member during operation along a support axis. A first stop limits movement of the second member toward the first member along the support axis. A second stop limits movement of the second member away from the first member along the support axis.
The cast cutter guard, as described above, overcomes the disadvantages inherent in prior art cast cutter guards. The second member moves freely relative to the first member along the support axis during operation. This provides an advantage to medical staff, as the cast cutter guard has only one setting, which accommodates any thickness of cast as well as variations in the thickness of an individual cast. This provides an advantage to the patient, as the pressure exerted by the medical staff upon the cast cutter translates into movement of the second member relative to the first member; rather than pressure upon the injured area.
Once the teaching of the present invention of free movement of second member relative to the first member, rather than fixed guard positioning, is understood; there are a number of different physical structures to apply this teaching. The cast cutter guard that will hereinafter be described is merely a preferred one of a number of alternative configurations.
Once the teachings of the present invention are understood, it is possible for a manufacturer of a cast cutter to build this form of cast cutter guard into the cast cutter during manufacture. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a combination of a cast cutter with a cast cutter guard. As this type of cast cutter guard is best suited for rotary blade cast cutters, the cast cutter includes a body with a rotary cutting blade rotating about a rotational axis. The cast cutter guard, as described above, has a first member positioned on the body of the cast cutter and a second member carrying a guard member. The second member is freely movable relative to the first member during operation along a support axis substantially perpendicular to the rotational axis. The first stop limits movement of the second member toward the first member along the support axis to maintain the guard member spaced outwardly a safe distance from a peripheral edge of the rotary cutting blade. The second stop limits movement of the second member away from the first member along the support axis to prevent separation of the second member from the first member.